University of Virginia Library

Rise Of Independents Disturbs
Traditional Political Practices

By Rick Pearson
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Photo by Mike Glidewell

Candidate For Political Office Addresses Nominating Caucus

Political Societies, Parties Meet Three Times Per Year To Nominate College Candidates

The political party system at the
University, once stable and tradition-based,
has been upset in the
last three years, and the future of
the system is in doubt.

Each year three elections are
held. In the fall and spring,
elections are held simultaneously
for representatives of the Student
Council and the Judiciary Committee.
Each member's term extends
for two semesters, and so each
semester half of the Council and
Judiciary must be re-elected. Also,
in the spring each school elects a
President and officers, and the
President serves on the Honor
Committee.

Although elections are held in
every school, party politics have
been limited mainly to the College.
The exception to this is the
Engineering School, where two
parties, Theta Tau and the Trigon
Society, are the dominating forces
in the school's politics.

In the past, college elections
have been virtually controlled by
the two traditional rival political
parties, Skull and Keys and the
Sceptre Society. These societies
meet twice a year to nominate
candidates for Student Council and
the Judiciary Committee and once
during the second semester to
nominate College officers.

Traditionally, the nominees of
these political caucuses fought
among themselves for the elective
offices. The nominations were controlled
by fraternities, generally
from a few dominant houses. It was
not unusual for one fraternity to
nominate candidates in both
caucuses, with little difference
between parties.

Independent candidates were
, and usually had little
success. And so, for many years,
the political campaigns took on an
aspect of regularity.

Societies Decline

In the past few years, though,
the University has seen a general
decline in the dominance of the
political societies. Although the
Skull and Keys and Sceptre
Societies are far from extinct, they
cannot boast the absolute control
they once had. There is now a trend
toward consolidation of the two
societies that can be detected in the
decreasing number of candidates
each society has nominated.

For instance, the caucused nominated
a total of six candidates for
the five Student Council offices in
last spring's election, in contrast to
the normal number of ten. Skull
and Keys, however, won most of
the College offices.

The void created by the decline
of the caucuses has been filled by
the increase in numbers and success
of the independent parties. The
first of these was the University
Party, which came on the political
scene two years ago.

Repeated Success

Consisting mainly of non-fraternity
men, this party succeeded in
electing a candidate to the Student
Council in the spring of 1967. It
repeated its success into last year's
fall elections, and it seemed to
become a major factor in University
politics. However, last spring it
failed to even nominate a slate.

The Anarchists appeared in the
spring of 1968 and immediately
met with great success. In a
campaign designed to put "life in
the Student Council," the Anarchists
aroused formerly apathetic
students and caused their candidates
to be elected with the highest
plurality ever obtained at that time.
But since that 1968 election, there
has not been another Anarchist
candidate put forth.

Progressive Party

Last spring witnessed the third
consecutive successful appearance
by a new independent party. The
Virginia Progressive Party sprung
suddenly from the hip of the
University Party and attempted to
present an organization that could
succeed where they believed the
University Party had failed.

The result was a slate of five
candidates for Student Council
office that spread across all
boundaries. Its party ranks covered
fraternity men, independents, and
Anarchists, and it even received the
support of the University Party
which then withdrew from the
election.

The success of the Progressives is
evident in the fact that four of their
nominees will serve this year on the
Council, along with a
candidate. Whether the party will
continue to be an effective force, or
whether it will follow the path of
the Anarchists, remains to be seen.

Oldest Society

The history of political parties at
the University has been complex
and exciting. In 1895, Skull and
Keys, the oldest surviving political
society, was established to "promote
social enjoyment and a spirit
of class allegiance."

The Sceptre Society was
founded in 1896 as Lambda Pi. The
Sceptre Society states as its purpose
to "promote good student government
in college activities."

These societies were formed
primarily as academic fraternities.
In 1939 they united to form the
old University Party, which controlled
College elections until it was
overthrown by the newly-organized
Cavalier Party in the 1951 election.

Both the Cavalier and the old
University Parties are now defunct.
With the demise of these two
parties, Skull and Keys and Sceptre
again emerged as rivals.

Now the party system has
reached a crossroads. The two
caucuses are considering a merger
to consolidate against the independent
threat. However, the independent
parties have met with a
consistent lack of continuity. Their
success has been their freshness,
and they have found it difficult to
be fresh each year.

It seems evident, though, that
one consistent fact is emerging.
There is a split in the voting habits
of the student body, and this split,
is developing along ideological lines,
rather than the old inter-fraternity
and fraternity-independent lines.
Where this will lead the University
is an uncertainty that will only be
resolved in future elections.